Lost at Sea, a Modern Day Hansel and Gretel
by greenpeace88
Summary: This is a modernised version of the classic children's tale, Hansel and Gretel. I originally wrote this for a school assignment.


It had been a rough day at sea and the twins, Hansel and Gretel, had only one fish to show for their trouble. One measly fish to last them for two days. They had been out all day in search of food and were just about to head home when the sky turned from grey to black. The waves started beating against the sides of their small, rickety boat, first softly then gradually getting rougher and rougher, until the fishermen were clinging to the sides of their boat in a desperate attempt to steady it. The boat was starting to rock and waves crashed down on them.  
  
The raging storm continued on into the early hours of the morning until it finally subsided at sunrise. By then the boat was in pieces and Hansel and Gretel were trying to stay above water on the biggest pieces of the debris. They had somehow managed to stay together. Just as they had given up hope they saw on the horizon the outline of a ship in the distance. They began to wave their arms frantically and shout for help. Slowly, as if just cruising, the ship came closer and closer until it was right beside them. A man who was presumably the captain ordered them to step aboard. Hansel and Gretel obeyed; there was a note of authority in his voice. As they were climbing up, a towering, bearded, middle-aged man with a gold front tooth and salt and pepper hair came into view. They tried to speak but they had worn out their voices with all the yelling. Instead they stood and shivered, dripping water onto the deck. "Here," growled the man, tossing them some old, shabby blankets. "The name's Pete, Captain Pete to you," he informed them. He looked at them awkwardly, as if sizing them up, as they wrapped the blankets around themselves with shaking hands. "You'll work for me and you will always remember that if it weren't for my generosity and pity you'd both be dead," the captain said with a smirk. He went on to explain, "I am a smuggler, you'll work for me in exchange for a place to stay and one meal each per day. Any objections?" Hansel and Gretel shook their heads meekly. "Good. I smuggle pearls, so which of you is the strongest swimmer?" Hansel pointed to his sister. "The two of you shall be staying in the second cabin. You may have your meal now," said Captain Pete. He led them to the dining hall, a small room to the rear of the ship. They sat and Captain Pete served their meal. Hansel and Gretel looked down eagerly at their bowls. They were ravenous. What their eyes met filled them with dismay. Their one meal a day was to be a small amount of lumpy, grey, disgusting looking gruel. Gretel, ever the optimist, thought that it was better than what they'd been getting before. Hansel just hoped that they didn't have to stay for long.  
  
After they slurped down their pitiful meal they went off to their beds. One hay bale and a thin, tatty blanket between the two of them. It was better than the hard, wooden floor of the dusty, broken down, old shack they had previously lived in.  
  
They slept soundly out of exhaustion and were woken in the morning by a loud bell. Captain Pete threw open the door and continued to ring the bell noisily, shouting "Get up and get moving! Gretel, you come into the storeroom and I'll give you a lesson." Gretel had no idea what she would be learning but obediently followed him. The storeroom contained some hi-tech looking equipment. Her lesson was on diving. The captain explained to her everything she would need to know and how to operate the diving gear. After that they practiced.  
  
By the time Gretel got back to her new 'home' to eat her meal it was evening. She'd quickly got the hang of diving for pearls and Captain Pete was very pleased. Tomorrow she would be going down on her own. Exhausted, she quickly shoveled down her gruel and flopped into bed. Hansel wasn't there but Gretel was so tired that this did not seem odd. She drifted off easily after a hard day's work, dreaming of the whole new world underwater. The wonders she had seen that day were recounted in her dreams and she felt that she would never want to wake.  
  
She ached in the morning but thought it was worth it. She would get used to it eventually. Realisation hit her like a gale force wind, knocking the breath from her. Hansel was gone. Jumping out of bed she raced to the captain's cabin, knocking loudly on the thick wooden door. She didn't wait for a response and instead flung open the door, only to see a sleepy Captain Pete rubbing his eyes. "What have you done with my brother?!" she shouted hoarsely, filled with rage. "He's in the basement, locked up to keep you from leaving, of course," he replied groggily. She ran to the basement and opened the door. There was Hansel. Caged. Disheveled. Dirty. Pathetic. His eyes contracted from that light that poured into the room. The cage had a heavy, metal lock. She could not open it. "Do not worry, brother, I will find a way to free you," she said softly.  
  
Gretel had no choice but to continue working for the captain. Every day she would dive for pearls and think of ways to free Hansel. Finally it came to her. Where would the captain keep the key? The safe in the storeroom! She herself had watched every day while the captain opened the combination lock on the safe. She knew the combination.  
  
When the captain had left the room she changed out of the diving costume and dropped to her knees in front of the safe. Seven left, eight right, three left, nine right. CLICK! Open. Gretel hid the key in her clothing and walked out casually. She went to feed Hansel his gruel. Unlocking the cage and letting him out, she explained her plan. They ran out, Gretel grabbing the arms and Hansel the legs of Captain Pete. They swung him back, forth, back and forth, flinging him overboard and into the raging ocean.  
  
Hansel and Gretel steered the ship to the nearest harbour and sold the pearls. They started their own fish canning business and became the wealthiest fisherman in their new village. They lived happily ever after. 


End file.
